Swimming

Swimming, in recreation and sports, the propulsion of the body through water by combined arm and leg motions and the natural flotation of the body. Swimming as an exercise is popular as an all-around body developer and is particularly useful in therapy and as exercise for physically handicapped persons. It is also taught for lifesaving purposes. For activities that involve swimming, see alsodiving, lifesaving, surfing, synchronized swimming, underwater diving, and water polo.

History

Archaeological and other evidence shows swimming to have been practiced as early as 2500 bce in Egypt and thereafter in Assyrian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. In Greece and Rome swimming was a part of martial training and was, with the alphabet, also part of elementary education for males. In the Orient swimming dates back at least to the 1st century bce, there being some evidence of swimming races then in Japan. By the 17th century an imperial edict had made the teaching of swimming compulsory in the schools. Organized swimming events were held in the 19th century before Japan was opened to the Western world. Among the preliterate maritime peoples of the Pacific, swimming was evidently learned by children about the time they walked, or even before. Among the ancient Greeks there is note of occasional races, and a famous boxer swam as part of his training. The Romans built swimming pools, distinct from their baths. In the 1st century bce the Roman Gaius Maecenas is said to have built the first heated swimming pool.

The lack of swimming in Europe during the Middle Ages is explained by some authorities as having been caused by a fear that swimming spread infection and caused epidemics. There is some evidence of swimming at seashore resorts of Great Britain in the late 17th century, evidently in conjunction with water therapy. Not until the 19th century, however, did the popularity of swimming as both recreation and sport begin in earnest. When the first swimming organization was formed there in 1837, London had six indoor pools with diving boards. The first swimming championship was a 440-yard (400-metre) race, held in Australia in 1846 and annually thereafter. The Metropolitan Swimming Clubs of London, founded in 1869, ultimately became the Amateur Swimming Association, the governing body of British amateur swimming. National swimming federations were formed in several European countries from 1882 to 1889. In the United States swimming was first nationally organized as a sport by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) on its founding in 1888. The Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) was founded in 1909.

Competitive swimming

Internationally, competitive swimming came into prominence with its inclusion in the modern Olympic Games from their inception in 1896. Olympic events were originally only for men, but women’s events were added in 1912. Before the formation of FINA, the Games included some unusual events. In 1900, for instance, when the Games’ swimming events were held on the Seine River in France, a 200-metre obstacle race involved climbing over a pole and a line of boats and swimming under them. Such oddities disappeared after FINA took charge. Under FINA regulations, for both Olympic and other world competition, race lengths came increasingly to be measured in metres, and in 1969 world records for yard-measured races were abolished. The kinds of strokes allowed were reduced to freestyle (crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. All four strokes were used in individual medley races. Many nations have at one time or another dominated Olympic and world competition, including Hungary, Denmark, Australia, Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, and the United States.

Instruction and training

The earliest instruction programs were in Great Britain in the 19th century, both for sport and for lifesaving. Those programs were copied in the rest of Europe. In the United States swimming instruction for lifesaving purposes began under the auspices of the American Red Cross in 1916. Instructional work done by the various branches of the armed forces during both World Wars I and II was very effective in promoting swimming. Courses taught by community organizations and schools, extending ultimately to very young infants, became common.

The early practice of simply swimming as much as possible at every workout was replaced by interval training and repeat training by the late 1950s. Interval training consists of a series of swims of the same distance with controlled rest periods. In slow interval training, used primarily to develop endurance, the rest period is always shorter than the time taken to swim the prescribed distance. Fast interval training, used primarily to develop speed, permits rest periods long enough to allow almost complete recovery of the heart and breathing rate.

The increased emphasis on international competition led to the growing availability of 50-metre (164-foot) pools. Other adjuncts that improved both training and performance included wave-killing gutters for pools, racing lane markers that also reduce turbulence, cameras for underwater study of strokes, large clocks visible to swimmers, and electrically operated touch and timing devices. Since 1972 all world records have been expressed in hundredths of a second. Advances in swimsuit technology reached a head at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where swimmers—wearing high-tech bodysuits that increased buoyancy and decreased water resistance—broke 25 world records. After another round of record-shattering times at the 2009 world championships, FINA banned such bodysuits, for fear that they augmented a competitor’s true ability.

Strokes

The earliest strokes to be used were the sidestroke and the breaststroke. The sidestroke was originally used with both arms submerged. That practice was modified toward the end of the 19th century by bringing forward first one arm above the water, then the other, and then each in turn. The sidestroke was supplanted in competitive swimming by the crawl (see below) but is still used in lifesaving and recreational swimming. The body stays on its side and the arms propel alternately. The leg motion used in sidestroke is called the scissors kick, in which the legs open slowly, under leg backward, upper leg forward, both knees slightly bent, and toes pointed. The scissoring action of the legs coming smartly together after opening creates the forward propulsion of the kick.

The breaststroke is believed to be the oldest of strokes and is much used in lifesaving and recreational swimming as well as in competitive swimming. The stroke is especially effective in rough water. As early as the end of the 17th century, the stroke was described as consisting of a wide pull of the arms combined with a symmetrical action of the legs and simulating the movement of a swimming frog, hence the usual term frog kick. The stroke is performed lying face down in the water, the arms always remaining underwater. The early breaststroke featured a momentary glide at the completion of the frog kick. Later the competitive breaststroke eliminated the glide. In the old breaststroke, breath was taken in at the beginning of the arm stroke, but in the later style, breath was taken in near the end of the arm pull.

breaststrokeBreaststrokeThe stroke begins with the swimmer's feet together and drawn up toward the back. The feet kick out and down and then come back together in the middle. The hands stretch forward from the body while the head is kept underwater. The hands widen at the surface and then pull down and out. The swimmer breathes during the pull and exhales underwater.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The butterfly stroke, used only in competition, differs from the breaststroke in arm action. In the butterfly the arms are brought forward above the water. The stroke was brought to the attention of U.S. officials in 1933 during a race involving Henry Myers, who used the stroke. He insisted that his stroke conformed to the rules of breaststroke as then defined. After a period of controversy, the butterfly was recognized as a distinct competitive stroke in 1953. The frog kick originally used was abandoned for a fishtail (dolphin) kick, depending only on up-and-down movement of the legs. Later swimmers used two dolphin kicks to one arm pull. Breathing is done in sprint competition by raising the head every second or third stroke.

butterfly strokeButterflyThe stroke begins with the swimmer's arms moving in a windmill fashion from back to front. The hands then move down the chest to the hips. The legs are kept together and thrust down like a flipper in a double rhythm matching the exit and entry of the hands from the water. Breath is inhaled while the hands are underwater.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The backstroke began to develop early in the 20th century. In that stroke, the swimmer’s body position is supine, the body being held as flat and streamlined as possible. The arms reach alternately above the head and enter the water directly in line with the shoulders, palm outward with the little finger entering the water first. The arm is pulled back to the thigh. There is a slight body roll. The kick was originally the frog kick, but it subsequently involved up-and-down leg movements as in the crawl. The backstroke is a competition stroke, but it is also used in recreational swimming as a rest from other strokes, frequently with minimum arm motion and only enough kick to maintain forward motion.

backstrokeBackstrokeThe swimmer maintains a strong and steady flutter kick, with the head held steady. The stroke begins with the arm reaching above the head and then entering the water palm out. The arm drives down and outward through the water, then turns at the elbow to sweep in toward the hip. Strokes alternate between arms, and breathing should match the rhythm of the stroke.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The crawl, the stroke used in competitive freestyle swimming, has become the fastest of all strokes. It is also the almost unanimous choice of stroke for covering any considerable distance. The stroke was in use in the Pacific at the end of the 19th century and was taken up by the Australian swimmer Henry Wickham about 1893. The brothers Syd and Charles Cavill of Australia popularized the stroke in Europe in 1902 and in the United States in 1903. The crawl was like the old sidestroke in its arm action, but it had a fluttering up-and-down leg action performed twice for each arm stroke. Early American imitators added an extra pair of leg actions, and later as many as six kicks were used. The kicks also varied in kind. In the crawl, the body lies prone, flat on the surface of the water, with the legs kept slightly under the water. The arms move alternately, timed so that one will start pulling just before the other has finished its pull, thus making propulsion continuous. Breathing is done by turning the head to either side during recovery of the arm from that side. Since 1896 the crawl has been used in more races than any other stroke.

freestyle strokeFreestyleThe swimmer maintains a strong and steady flutter kick. The stroke begins with the swimmer's arm extending forward at about shoulder width, then coming back across the body to the hip. During recovery the arm is brought back toward the head, keeping the elbow raised above the body. Strokes alternate between arms. The swimmer exhales underwater and takes a breath when needed.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Starts are all (with the exception of the backstroke) from a standing or forward-leaning position, the object being to get the longest possible glide before the stroke begins. All races are in multiples of the pool length, so that the touch before turning, which is varied for different stroke races, is important for success. In relay races, a swimmer finishes his leg of the relay by touching the starting edge of the pool, upon which his next teammate dives into the water to begin his leg.

turning techniqueFreestyle turnThe swimmer maintains speed coming into the wall and executes a forward flip toward the wall. As the swimmer's feet push off the wall, the swimmer executes a half-twist to reorient the body and enter a streamlined position. The hands are held one on top of the other with the head tucked under the arms. Once the momentum of the push off is lost, the swimmer resumes the stroke.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Distance swimming

Any swimming competition longer than 1,500 metres (1,640 yards) is considered distance swimming. Most long-distance races are in the 24- to 59-km (15- to 37-mile) range, though some, such as the Lake Georgemarathon (67 km [41.5 miles]) and the Lake Michigan Endurance Swim (80 km [50 miles]), both in the United States, have been longer. FINA governs distance swimming for 5-km, 10-km, and 25-km (3.1-mile, 6.2-mile, and 15.5-mile) races. In 1954 a group of amateur and professional marathon swimmers formed the Fédération Internationale de Natation Longue Distance; and in 1963, after dissension between amateur and professional swimmers, the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation was founded. Throughout the 1960s the latter group sanctioned about eight professional marathons annually, the countries most frequently involved being Canada, Egypt, Italy, Argentina, and the United States. The British Long Distance Swimming Association has sponsored races on inland waters of from 16.5 to 35.4 km (10.25 to 22 miles).

The first type of distance swimming to be regulated by FINA was English Channel swimming, which captured the popular imagination in the second half of the 19th century. Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain was the first to make the crossing from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 1875; his time was 21 hours 45 minutes. The map distance was 17.75 nautical miles (33 km), but the actual distance of a Channel Swim is frequently lengthened by tides and winds. No one matched Webb’s feat until 1911, when another Englishman, T.W. Burgess, made the crossing. In 1926 the American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, crossing from Cap Gris-Nez, France, to Dover in a record-setting time for man or woman of 14 hours 31 minutes. Since then, except for the World War II years, crossing swims have been made annually. Several swimmers have made 10 or more crossings. The Channel Swimming Association was formed in 1927 to control swims and verify times. By 1978 the record had been lowered to 7 hours 40 minutes by Penny Dean of the United States, and by the 1990s successful crossings had been made by swimmers as young as 12 and as old as 65. Various swimmers had crossed both ways with only brief rests between the swims. Open-water distance swimming events of 10 km (for men and women) were added to the Olympic program in 2008.

Men’s swimming world championships

Winners of the men’s swimming world championships are provided in the table.

World swimming championships—men

freestyle

year

50 m

100 m

200 m

*Original winner stripped of title after failing drug test.

**Tied.

1973

James Montgomery (U.S.)

James Montgomery (U.S.)

1975

Andy Coan (U.S.)

Timothy Shaw (U.S.)

1978

David McCagg (U.S.)

Bill Forrester (U.S.)

1982

Jörg Woithe (E.Ger.)

Michael Gross (W.Ger.)

1986

Thomas Jager (U.S.)

Matthew Biondi (U.S.)

Michael Gross (W.Ger.)

1991

Thomas Jager (U.S.)

Matthew Biondi (U.S.)

Giorgio Lamberti (Italy)

1994

Aleksandr Popov (Russia)

Aleksandr Popov (Russia)

Antti Kasvio (Fin.)

1998

Bill Pilczuk (U.S.)

Aleksandr Popov (Russia)

Michael Klim (Austl.)

2001

Anthony Ervin (U.S.)

Anthony Ervin (U.S.)

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

2003

Aleksandr Popov (Russia)

Aleksandr Popov (Russia)

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

2005

Roland Schoeman (S.Af.)

Filippo Magnini (Italy)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2007

Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner (U.S.)

Filippo Magnini (Italy)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2009

César Cielo (Braz.)

César Cielo (Braz.)

Paul Biedermann (Ger.)

2011

César Cielo (Braz.)

James Magnussen (Austl.)

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2013

César Cielo (Braz.)

James Magnussen (Austl.)

Yannick Agnel (France)

2015

César Cielo (Braz.)

Ning Zetao (China)

James Guy (U.K.)

freestyle

year

400 m

800 m

1,500 m

1973

Richard DeMont (U.S.)

Stephen Holland (Austl.)

1975

Timothy Shaw (U.S.)

Timothy Shaw (U.S.)

1978

Vladimir Salnikov (U.S.S.R.)

Vladimir Salnikov (U.S.S.R.)

1982

Vladimir Salnikov (U.S.S.R.)

Vladimir Salnikov (U.S.S.R.)

1986

Rainer Henkel (W.Ger.)

Rainer Henkel (W.Ger.)

1991

Jörg Hoffmann (Ger.)

Jörg Hoffmann (Ger.)

1994

Kieren Perkins (Austl.)

Kieren Perkins (Austl.)

1998

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

2001

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

2003

Ian Thorpe (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

2005

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

Grant Hackett (Austl.)

2007

Park Tae-Hwan (S.Kor.)

Przemysław Stanczyk (Pol.)*

Mateusz Sawrymowicz (Pol.)

2009

Paul Biedermann (Ger.)

Zhang Lin (China)

Oussama Mellouli (Tun.)

2011

Park Tae-Hwan (S.Kor.)

Sun Yang (China)

Sun Yang (China)

2013

Sun Yang (China)

Sun Yang (China)

Sun Yang (China)

2015

Sun Yang (China)

Sun Yang (China)

Sun Yang (China)

backstroke

year

50 m

100 m

200 m

1973

Roland Matthes (E.Ger.)

Roland Matthes (E.Ger.)

1975

Roland Matthes (E.Ger.)

Zoltán Verraszto (Hung.)

1978

Bob Jackson (U.S.)

Jesse Vassallo (U.S.)

1982

Dirk Richter (E.Ger.)

Richard Carey (U.S.)

1986

Igor Polyansky (U.S.S.R.)

Igor Polyansky (U.S.S.R.)

1991

Jeffrey Rouse (U.S.)

Martín López Zubero (Spain)

1994

Martín López Zubero (Spain)

Vladimir Selkov (Russia)

1998

Lenny Krayzelburg (U.S.)

Lenny Krayzelburg (U.S.)

2001

Randall Bal (U.S.)

Matthew Welsh (Austl.)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

2003

Thomas Rupprath (Ger.)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

2005

Aristeidis Grigoriadis (Greece)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

2007

Gerhard Zandberg (S.Af.)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2009

Liam Tancock (U.K.)

Koga Junya (Japan)

Aaron Peirsol (U.S.)

2011

Liam Tancock (U.K.)

Camille Lacourt (France)**
Jérémy Stravius (France)**

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2013

Camille Lacourt (France)

Matthew Grevers (U.S.)

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2015

Camille Lacourt (France)

Mitchell Larkin (Austl.)

Mitchell Larkin (Austl.)

breaststroke

year

50 m

100 m

200 m

1973

John Hencken (U.S.)

David Wilkie (U.K.)

1975

David Wilkie (U.K.)

David Wilkie (U.K.)

1978

Walter Kusch (W.Ger.)

Nicholas Nevid (U.S.)

1982

Steve Lundquist (U.S.)

Victor Davis (Can.)

1986

Victor Davis (Can.)

József Szabo (Hung.)

1991

Norbert Rozsa (Hung.)

Michael Barrowman (U.S.)

1994

Norbert Rozsa (Hung.)

Norbert Rozsa (Hung.)

1998

Frédérik De Burghgraeve (Belg.)

Kurt Grote (U.S.)

2001

Oleg Lisogor (Ukr.)

Roman Sludnov (Russia)

Brendan Hansen (U.S.)

2003

James Gibson (U.K.)

Kitajima Kosuke (Japan)

Kitajima Kosuke (Japan)

2005

Mark Warnecke (Ger.)

Brendan Hansen (U.S.)

Brendan Hansen (U.S.)

2007

Oleg Lisogor (Ukr.)

Brendan Hansen (U.S.)

Kitajima Kosuke (Japan)

2009

Cameron van der Burgh (S.Af.)

Brenton Rickard (Austl.)

Dániel Gyurta (Hung.)

2011

Felipe Franca da Silva (Braz.)

Alexander Dale Oen (Nor.)

Dániel Gyurta (Hung.)

2013

Cameron van der Burgh (S.Af.)

Christian Sprenger (Austl.)

Dániel Gyurta (Hung.)

2015

Adam Peaty (U.K.)

Adam Peaty (U.K.)

Marco Koch (Ger.)

butterfly

year

50 m

100 m

200 m

1973

Bruce Robertson (Can.)

Robin Backhaus (U.S.)

1975

Gregory Jagenburg (U.S.)

Bill Forrester (U.S.)

1978

Joe Bottom (U.S.)

Michael Bruner (U.S.)

1982

Matthew Gribble (U.S.)

Michael Gross (W.Ger.)

1986

Pablo Morales (U.S.)

Michael Gross (W.Ger.)

1991

Anthony Nesty (Suriname)

Melvin Stewart (U.S.)

1994

Rafał Szukala (Pol.)

Denis Pankratov (Russia)

1998

Michael Klim (Austl.)

Denys Silantyev (Ukr.)

2001

Geoffry Huegill (Austl.)

Lars Frölander (Swed.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2003

Matthew Welsh (Austl.)

Ian Crocker (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2005

Roland Schoeman (S.Af.)

Ian Crocker (U.S.)

Paweł Korzeniowski (Pol.)

2007

Roland Schoeman (S.Af.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2009

Milorad Cavic (Serb.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2011

César Cielo (Braz.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2013

César Cielo (Braz.)

Chad Le Clos (S.Af.)

Chad Le Clos (S.Af.)

2015

Florent Manaudou (France)

Chad Le Clos (S.Af.)

László Cseh (Hung.)

individual medley

year

200 m

400 m

1973

Gunnar Larsson (Swed.)

András Hargitay (Hung.)

1975

András Hargitay (Hung.)

András Hargitay (Hung.)

1978

Graham Smith (Can.)

Jesse Vassallo (U.S.)

1982

Aleksandr Sidorenko (U.S.S.R.)

Ricardo Prado (Braz.)

1986

Tamás Darnyi (Hung.)

Tamás Darnyi (Hung.)

1991

Tamás Darnyi (Hung.)

Tamás Darnyi (Hung.)

1994

Jani Sievinen (Fin.)

Thomas Dolan (U.S.)

1998

Marcel Wouda (Neth.)

Thomas Dolan (U.S.)

2001

Massimiliano Rosolino (Italy)

Alessio Boggiatto (Italy)

2003

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2005

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

László Cseh (Hung.)

2007

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

Michael Phelps (U.S.)

2009

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2011

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

2013

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

Seto Daiya (Japan)

2015

Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

Seto Daiya (Japan)

team relays

year

4 × 100-m freestyle

4 × 200-m freestyle

4 × 100-m medley

1973

United States

United States

United States

1975

United States

West Germany

United States

1978

United States

United States

United States

1982

United States

United States

United States

1986

United States

East Germany

United States

1991

United States

Germany

United States

1994

United States

Sweden

United States

1998

United States

Australia

Australia

2001

Australia

Australia

Australia

2003

Russia

Australia

United States

2005

United States

United States

United States

2007

United States

United States

Australia

2009

United States

United States

United States

2011

Australia

United States

United States

2013

France

United States

France

2015

France

United Kingdom

France

Women’s swimming world championships

Winners of the women’s swimming world championships are provided in the table.